# Properties

Languine supports Java Properties files, the standard localization format for Java applications. This format handles Unicode escaping and supports both key-value pairs and comments.

---

## Setting Up

First, make sure you've got a languine.json config file in your project root. Here's an example:

```json
{
  "locale": {
    "source": "en",
    "targets": ["sv", "de", "fr"]
  },
  "files": {
    "properties": {
      "include": ["src/main/resources/messages_[locale].properties"]
    }
  }
}
```

## Translating

With your config set, run:

```bash
npx languine@latest translate
```

When you run this command, Languine will:

- Load your source properties file (e.g., messages_en.properties)
- Detect any new or modified translation strings
- Generate translations for your target languages
- Create or update the target language properties files (e.g., messages_sv.properties)
- Handle Unicode escaping automatically
- Preserve comments and formatting
